Electrical lighting has become commonplace in modern society. Electrical lighting devices are commonly used, for example, in homes, buildings of commercial and other enterprise establishments, as well as in various outdoor settings. Since the advent of light emitters, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), for general lighting type illumination application, lighting equipment has become increasingly intelligent with incorporation of sensors, programmed controller and network communication capabilities. Typical luminaires generally have been a single purpose lighting device that includes a light source to provide artificial general illumination of a particular area or space.
Multiple lighting devices are often utilized to provide general illumination to an entire region, such as an entire floor of an office, commercial establishment, auditorium or classroom. Traditionally, such lighting devices are distributed in a pattern across the ceiling of the region under illumination so as to optimize lighting of the space of an intended use. In order to provide sound or other audio capabilities to the entire region having the multiple lighting devices, conventional speakers are typically separately mounted to the ceiling and other surfaces within the region. The conventional speakers require an aperture or other pathway for the acoustic wave to pass through.
A need exists for providing audio capabilities, for example to an entire region having multiple lighting devices, that would reduce the clutter of ceiling mounted, wall mounted or stand-alone conventional speakers, improve aesthetics, and save costs.